Rinehart’s workers may not be as skilled as earlier ‘guests’

The agreement struck by
Gina Rinehart
to employ foreign workers in a new iron ore project in the Pilbara will allow an unknown number of “semi-skilled workers" on Australian shores, alongside the tradesmen who have long been imported into Western Australia and resource-rich states.

Rinehart’s business will pay a big price in terms for workplace conditions for that luxury. Nonetheless, her new enterprise migration agreement – the first EMA ever struck –has proved sweet enough to encourage other resource companies to consider signing one themselves.

The big difference between the new rules and the existing system of 457 visas, which are commonly used by companies hiring so-called guest workers, is that employers can use an EMA to bring unskilled workers into Australia, not just those people who might have a trade or other highly sought-after skills.

That means a mining company that previously imported engineers and managers can now also hire foreign workers who meet a somewhat obscure definition of semi-skilled or “sub-trade" that appears to include jobs such as rigger or scaffolder.

Companies understood to be seeking EMAs include Chevron Australia for its Gorgon gas expansion.

The big attraction of an EMA for companies is the ability to bring in unskilled workers who might not have the same standard of English as previously required.

The federal government has confirmed that 38 big resource projects have met the criteria to be eligible to under the scheme, but demand could get larger if previous applications for 457 visas are a litmus test.

The number of applications for 457 visas increased by 34.5 per cent from July 2011 to April 30 this year compared with the previous corresponding period and the number of such visas actually granted was 48.6 per cent higher, according to official statistics from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

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For those occupations eligible for the standard 457 program, most of which are highly skilled, no cap will apply to the number of people who can be sponsored through the agreement.

However, a cap will apply to the semi-skilled or sub-trade occupations, and project owners will need to provide evidence as to why Australian workers are not available to fill these vacancies.

The attraction of recruiting skilled workers from overseas is simple. Mining People International’s manager for recruitment operation, Brad Thorp, says recruiting overseas is just easier.

“The standard of living in Australia is much higher than if you are bringing workers in from any South-East Asian nation. A fitter, for example, in the Philippines, might be earning somewhere around $US10,000 per annum. They will come to Australia and be earning $80,000 as a base," Thorp says.

He says recruiting from overseas is “quite easy" for skilled operators but not so for the unskilled such as dump truck operators, and he is “quite surprised" that Hancock Prospecting’s agreement allows it import an unskilled workforce.

Nonetheless, the custom-designed deal for Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore mine will deliver 1715 pairs of boots on the ground.

The government is unwilling to reveal what proportion of that number are likely to fall into the category of unskilled. It is far keener to talk about the training requirements that are part of the deal.

“As part of the EMA, Roy Hill will provide up to 2000 training places for Australians. This includes places for more than 200 Australian apprentices and trainees, as well as preparing over 100 indigenous Australians to work in the construction industry," Immigration Minister Chris
Bowen
says.

The official guidelines for EMAs do not provide a precise list of semi-skilled occupations.

Instead, the guidelines outline two different definitions of semi-skilled that require an educational certificate and one to five years’ experience.

The guidelines then go on to say that the EMA program will target “specialised semi-skilled occupations" that require greater experience and skills than others.

“Project owners will need to justify the need for overseas workers in these occupations on a case-by-case basis," the guidelines say.

“We expect that for those occupations requiring limited training and experience, employers will seek workers from the Australian labour market."